Ductwork and airflow in Tampa
When one room never cools, it is usually the ducts, not the unit. We measure static pressure before anybody talks equipment.
- Static pressure measured
- Mastic, never cloth tape
- Re-measured afterwards
Sound familiar?
Signs the problem is in the ducts
These get blamed on the equipment all the time.
One room never cools
Usually a long, crushed or disconnected run to that room.
The coil keeps freezing
Too little air across it, often from an undersized return.
It's loud at the grilles
Air forced through too little duct. The blower is fighting the house.
The room that never cools
It's usually the air getting there, not the unit
If one room is always warm, the register in that room is usually starved: a long run, a crushed flex duct in the attic, or a return too small for the house. We measure it with a manometer across the air handler. Most home equipment is designed around half an inch of water column, and many Tampa homes read 0.8 or more.
The return side is usually the guilty half. Plenty of homes here were built with a single central return, sized for the price of the grille rather than the air being pulled through it.
What we measure
What we measure
Every duct job starts and ends with numbers.
What most home equipment is built for.
And the blower is losing.
Often one, and often too small.
What a leaky return pulls in on a July afternoon.
How we do it
How we fix airflow
Unglamorous fixes that work, and cost less than a system.
Measure
Supply and return static, separately, so you can see which half is the restriction.
Look in the attic
Crushed flex, kinks, sagging runs and liners come apart from the collar.
Fix what the numbers say
A larger return, a second return, a proper filter cabinet, sealing with mastic.
Measure again
So you can see the reading changed, and by how much.
What it costs
What duct work costs
What moves the price
- Sealing and repairs on accessible runs are the smallest jobs.
- A new or larger return means framing and a grille.
- Replacing runs in a hot attic is priced by the run.
- A full duct replacement is quoted after measuring every room.
The visit charge, up front
There is a diagnostic charge for a service call, and we tell you what it is on the phone before anyone drives out. You keep the written report whether or not you go ahead.
Repairs are priced as a job, part and labor named, and agreed before we start.
Request serviceThe details
What we find in Florida attics
Most of it has been up there since the house was built.
Flex duct, and what happens to it in an attic
Flex is fine when it's pulled tight, supported with wide straps and run with gentle bends. It's rarely installed that way. We find it crushed under stored boxes, kinked at a boot, sagging between joists, and inner liners pulled away from the collar.
Sealing: mastic, not cloth tape
The gray cloth tape sold as duct tape is the one thing that must never be used on a duct: the adhesive dries and it falls off within a few years. Sealing is done with brushed mastic and mesh, or a foil tape rated for the job.
Why the return leak matters most
A return with an open seam in a hot attic doesn't lose air, it drinks it: 140° attic air and insulation fibers pulled straight into the system. That's money leaving and a comfort problem arriving.
What you get on paper
The static reading split into supply and return, return grille area against the airflow needed, and notes from the attic. If we recommend work, the report says which reading it should change, and we measure again afterwards.
Questions
Ductwork questions
Will a bigger AC fix the room that won't cool?
Almost never. If the air can't get to that room, a bigger unit pushes more air into the same restriction. The duct run to that room is usually the fix.
Do my ducts need cleaning?
Sometimes, but it's oversold. We'll look before recommending it, and we'll tell you if sealing or a return fix will do more for comfort and your bill.
How do I know if my return is too small?
A loud whistle at the return grille, a filter that gets sucked flat, and a high static pressure reading are the signs. We measure it on every visit.
More from Copperfield
Tampa · Hillsborough County
Make the back bedroom as cool as the living room.
Tell us which room and what it's doing. We'll measure before we recommend anything.